LONEN'S REIGN in the final book in
the Sorcerous Moons series by fantasy author Jeffe Kennedy. Coming
in at under 200 (eBook) pages, this is a quick wrap up to the story of
sorceress Ora from the kingdom of Bára and her husband Lonen, the
new barbarian king of Dru. I've followed as Oria figured out how her
people imprisoned her, literally and knowledge-wise, and I love how
she's coming into her own. She's figured out how to flex her magical
muscles and it's very empowering.
In the final book, Oria and Lonen must head back to Ori's kingdom of
Bara to fight her evil brother, so that the Baran will stop attacking the
Dru. Lonen has finally won the crown of Dru from his crazed and
corrupted brother and leads his warriors against the foul forces of
Baran. Oria and Lonen must act separately for a good part of the book,
using their own areas of strength to help turn the tide in the fight. I love
how Lonen successfully fights his protective impulses to let Oria shine
as an active magical combatant, despite his barbarian upbringing.
Hooray for "woke" barbarians!
In LONEN'S REIGN, Oria and Lonen
finally undergo formal wedding rites and have figured out how to
circumvent Oria's earlier magical intolerance of human touch. So there
is a lot of sexual activity in this book. And Lonen is thinking about sex.
A lot. A. LOT. Which makes sense if you're the character who has not
been able to consummate your marriage for months, but does detract
from the adventure/battle portion of the story for me. You'd think a
warrior facing the battle for his life and his kingdom would be able to
concentrate a little better but perhaps not!
This has been a fun series, and Kennedy's world of magic and warring
kingdoms is fascinating. It will be a pleasure to see where Kennedy
turns her attention to next in the large Twelve Kingdoms world for her
next series focus. Kennedy's LONEN'S
REIGN brings us a happy conclusion to warring magical kingdoms
and leaves us with a king and queen happily in love and in lust.
A Looming Threat
The sorceress Oria has finally come into her own—able to
wield the power of her birthright and secure in the
marriage she once believed would bring her only misery.
But the past she escaped still chases her, and the
certainty of war promises to destroy everything she’s
fought to have.
An Impossible War
Once before Lonen led an army in a desperate attempt to
stop the powerfully murderous sorcerers of Bára—and he
nearly lost everything. Now he must return to the
battlefield that took the lives of so many of his people.
Only this time he has more to risk than ever.
The Final Conflict
With guile, determination—and unexpected allies—Oria and
Lonen return to the place where it all began… and only
hope that it won’t also be the end of them.
Excerpt
“Just a few more moments of your patience, Your Highness,”
the healer Baeltya said, her tone abstracted as she
concentrated.
Lonen stared up at the patterned, arched ceiling of Arill’s
Temple, counting the interweaving strips of wood yet again.
There were one thousand and fifty-two in the central
spiral. He should be grateful for Arill’s magic—and Her
dedicated priestesses who devoted themselves to healing—
which made convalescence so much faster, if profoundly
uncomfortable. Mostly, however, he chafed at the enforced
inactivity. Much easier not to get injured in the first
place.
At least his mother, who’d initially taken care of the gut
wound he’d received from his brother Nolan during their
duel, had left the follow-up care to Baeltya. The junior
healer didn’t lecture him the way Vycayla, as both the
dowager queen and his mother, seemed to feel entitled to
do. Not only entitled, but compelled.
If he didn’t need her help to ensure he and Oria could
officially marry with Arill’s blessing, according to
Destrye law, he’d be tempted to tell his mother to go back
to her hermitage already.
The wedding ceremony was a stupid formality, really. With
the duel over and Lonen’s claim to the throne of Dru
secured, he could declare Oria his wife and Queen of the
Destrye once and for all. They’d fought hard enough for it.
It still stuck in his craw that he’d had to fight his
brother for it.
“Try not to twitch, Your Highess,” Baeltya said, sounding
more emphatic and less vague. “This is a delicate piece.”
“I wouldn’t want you to meld my intestines to my bladder
after all,” he commented wryly.
“You laugh, but given the previous state of your
intestines, that’s not impossible,” she replied in a tart
tone, her healing magic twisting in parts of his gut he
wished he didn’t know about. “That final blow could’ve
killed you—likely would’ve killed a man in less robust
condition—so maybe spend this time contemplating your
gratitude to Arill for Her healing gifts.”
“I’m grateful,” he grumbled. Though he’d much rather be
with Oria and his mother as they sorted through Nolan’s
psyche. He couldn’t decide if it made him feel better or
worse that Nolan’s rebellion and treachery might have been
fueled by a sorcerous taint from his time in Bára. And
Arnon… Lonen didn’t know what to make of his younger
brother’s changeable loyalty. First Arnon had backed
Nolan’s challenge, then—apparently somehow swayed by their
mother Vycayla’s return from self-imposed exile—he had
refused to act as Nolan’s second.
So ironic that they accused Lonen of being enchanted and
duped by his sorceress wife to the point they questioned
his devotion to Dru, and now Oria was the only person he
felt he could fully trust.
He sighed heavily.
“Your Highness…”
“That was a sigh, not a twitch.”
She laughed. “I don’t envy Oria in managing you if you’re
always this difficult.”
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